Keeler: The Steve Levy aftershocks

Even now, wounded by a fundraising scandal and stripped of his campaign war chest, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy is still shaking the political landscape.

Last week, he announced he won't run for re-election and will forfeit his entire $4 million campaign fund to District Attorney Thomas Spota, to be returned to donors after the Nov. 8 election. The aftershocks of that earthquake are still rumbling, raising questions about how well Levy will be able to govern, and altering political and governmental careers.

His announcement has an impact on the future of everyone on his staff -- from longtime aides like his assistant, Dixie Gunter, to a deputy, Ken Crannell, who moved from upstate not long ago to join him.

The temblors have also been felt in the first election since Levy's announcement. To take the Japan analogy one step further, there's some evidence he's a tad radioactive.

In a special election Tuesday to fill a northeast Brookhaven seat on the county legislature, Martin Haley, a veteran Republican, lost to Sarah Anker, a Democratic underdog. Haley used to represent the district and had a solid enrollment edge. But the Levyquake, plus energetic union support for Anker, shook up the race. GOP mailings called Haley "part of the Levy team," and Democrats reminded voters of that after last week's events.

That loss capped a miserable few days for the county GOP chairman, John Jay LaValle. Ever since Levy switched from Democrat to Republican a year ago, LaValle had joined himself to him at the political hip. A few weeks ago, to fend off any primary, he met with countywide GOP elected officials, urged them to support Levy, and called him a "rock star."

Now Levy is a rocked star. A week ago, LaValle had a candidate with $4 million. Now he doesn't. And the presumed Democratic candidate, Babylon Supervisor Steve Bellone, still has well over $1 million.

Yesterday, the race to succeed Levy as the GOP candidate went public. County Treasurer Angie Carpenter, who said she had considered a primary even before last Thursday, announced her candidacy in West Islip. She didn't say Levy's name, but her message was an oblique reference to his style. "You've got to have someone who's not combative," she said. "You've got to have someone who is inclusive."

That's a big question for the remainder of Levy's term: How will his ability and style of governing change, and how much can he accomplish?

For this week, at least, Levy's style is different. Always highly visible in news conferences, he has gone from unavoidable for comment to unavailable for comment. Staff members say he's deeply engaged, calling them often on business, still feisty and energetic. But for a week he has been governing from an undisclosed location.

As he returns to the office, Levy faces tough issues. At the end of April, the county meets with the bond-rating agencies. Under Levy those ratings have been high, which lowers the cost to taxpayers of county borrowing. Despite the pain of his personal situation, he has to focus on that. He also has to tighten county spending even further to get ready for a troublesome budget next year.

Levy will want to firm up his conservative legacy, but he'll be dogged by lingering questions about his deal with Spota. And since the investigation of others is continuing, who knows what else might be revealed?

There will also be distractions in his adopted party: the struggle over the GOP nomination, and perhaps even challenges to LaValle's leadership.

But Levy should keep the politics of the county executive and legislative campaigns at arm's length, govern prudently and leave the county in the best shape possible for his successor, whoever that may be.